Genesis Ch45v16-Ch46v27 - Truth For The Journey

It's on page 51 of the Red Church Bibles.

When the news reached Pharaoh's palace that Joseph's brothers had come,

Pharaoh and all his officials were pleased.

Pharaoh said to Joseph, tell your brothers, do this,

load your animals and return to the land of Canaan,

and bring me, your father, and your families back to me.

I will give you the best of the land of Egypt,

and you can enjoy the fat of the land.

You were also instructed to tell them, do this,

take some carts from Egypt for your children and your wives,

and get your father to come.

Never mind about your belongings,

because the best of all Egypt will be yours.

So the son of Israel did this.

Joseph gave them carts, as Pharaoh had commanded.

He also gave them provisions for their journey.

To each of them he gave new clothing,

but to Benjamin he gave 300 shekels of silver and five sets of clothes.

And this is what he sent to his father,

ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt,

and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread

and other provisions for his journey.

Then he sent his brothers away,

and as they were leaving he said to them,

don't quarrel on the way.

So they went up out of Egypt

and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan.

They told him,

Joseph is still alive,

in fact he is the ruler of all Egypt.

Jacob was stunned,

he did not believe them.

But when they told him everything that Joseph had said to them,

and when he saw the carts that Joseph has sent

to carry him back,

the spirit of their father Jacob revived.

And Israel said,

I'm convinced my son Joseph is still alive.

I will go and see him before I die.

So Israel set out with all that was his.

And when he reached Beersheba,

he offered sacrifices to God of his father Isaac.

And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said,

Jacob, Jacob, here I am, he replied.

I am God, the God of your father, he said.

Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt,

for I will make you into a great nation there.

I will go down to Egypt with you,

and I will surely bring you back again.

And Joseph's own hand will close your eyes.

Then Jacob left Beersheba,

and Israel's sons took their father Jacob

and their children and their wives

in the carts that Pharaoh had sent to transport them.

So Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt,

taking with them their livestock

and possessions that they had acquired in Canaan.

Jacob brought with them to Egypt

his sons and grandsons

and his daughters and granddaughters

and all his offspring.

Thank you, Louise.

So let's keep our Bibles open there

at Genesis 45, 46,

and you can follow along.

Let's pray as we look at God's word.

Father, thank you for these great stories,

these true accounts of your people

who lived so long ago,

but yet speak truth for us today.

And so we ask for your help

that we would be able to apply that truth to our lives,

that it may change us and help us

as we walk with you.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, it was an emotional moment.

After years of division,

lies, and heartache,

finally, there's reconciliation and restoration.

Just look back, chapter 45, verse 4.

22 years had passed,

and then Joseph said to his brothers,

come close to me.

When they had done so, he said,

I am your brother Joseph,

the one you had sold into Egypt.

Verse 14.

And Joseph threw his arms around his brother Benjamin

and wept.

And Benjamin embraced him weeping.

And Joseph kissed all his brothers

and wept over them.

22 years of shame and guilt

had been confessed and forgiven.

It was a turning point for the brothers.

It was a fresh start and a new beginning.

And now as we continue on in the account,

we discover that they're on their way to Egypt.

And as we follow them on their journey,

there are three things we're going to learn

that will help us on our journey

as we walk with God.

There's a warning,

there's a reminder,

and a guarantee.

A warning,

a reminder,

and a guarantee.

Three things we're going to follow

on this journey.

So first,

the warning,

beware the sins of your fathers.

Now,

following the brothers' dramatic transformation

came this unexpected invitation.

Verse 17.

Pharaoh said to Joseph,

tell your brothers,

do this,

load your animals

and return to your home,

to the land of Canaan,

and bring your father

and your families back to me,

and I will give you

the best of land in Egypt,

and you can enjoy the fat

of the land.

All they would ever need

is promised to them.

They've gone from famine

to fortune.

They could hardly believe it.

But old sins

threatened

to ruin it all.

You see,

we've all got

our weaknesses,

haven't we?

Our Achilles heel.

For Jacob

and his family,

it was

favoritism.

And it appears

there was a history

to it.

Apparently,

it all started

with Jacob's parents,

Isaac and Rebecca.

They had two children,

Esau,

and the other one

was Jacob.

And the story tells us

in chapter 25

that Isaac

loved Esau,

but Rebecca

loved Jacob.

Now,

that's never good

for family dynamics,

is it,

to have parents

loving one

more than the other?

In fact,

as we read on

in the account,

it set a pattern

that practically

divided

and destroyed

the family.

Later on,

we learn that

Jacob married

two women,

Leah and Rachel.

And once again,

favoritism came through.

The story tells us

in chapter 29

that Jacob's love

for Rachel

was greater

than his love

for Leah.

Favoritism.

And this

seeped through

into the love

for the children.

Chapter 37,

verse 3,

tells us,

now Jacob

loved Joseph

more than

any of his

other's sons.

Favoritism.

And the brothers

hated him

for it.

They were filled

with jealousy

and envy

and they sold him

as a slave.

That's what we've been

looking at

over the weeks.

But with Joseph

gone,

Jacob's favoritism

jumped to

Benjamin.

So when the news

came to Jacob

that if the family

were going to receive

any more food

from Egypt,

they would have to

send Benjamin

down there.

And Jacob

would adamant,

have a look at

chapter 42,

just go back

a couple of pages,

chapter 42,

verse 38.

So the request

has been to bring

Benjamin down

to Egypt.

And Jacob said,

my son will not

go down there

with you.

His brother,

thinking of Joseph,

is dead.

And he is the

only one

left.

Well,

he wasn't the

only one left,

was he?

Jacob had

ten other sons,

but of all

the sons,

it seems

only one

son mattered.

Generations

torn apart

by favoritism,

envy,

and jealousy.

Now let's go

back to

chapter 45.

But all

seems to be

different now.

The brothers

had repented,

they've been

reconciled to

Joseph,

it's a new

beginning,

it's a fresh

start,

but sin

once again

raises its

ugly head.

Did you

notice it

when we

listened to

the reading?

Verse 21,

Joseph gave

them carts

as Pharaoh

had commanded,

and he also

gave them

provisions for

the journey.

To each of

them he gave

new clothing.

nothing.

But to

Benjamin,

he gave

300 shekels

of silver.

Now that's

enough to

pay off his

mortgage,

buy himself

a nice new

car,

and have

money left

over for a

lovely holiday.

But not

just that,

five

walk-in

wardrobes.

it seems

that Joseph

has got

his own

favourite.

And there

was potential

for further

upset.

Was envy

and jealousy

beginning to

strike again?

Look at

verse 24.

And Joseph

sent his

brothers away,

and as they

were leaving,

he said to

them,

don't quarrel

on the

way.

It seems

Joseph has

his own

favourites,

and he knew

the danger

of favouritism.

But it seems

he's blind

to his own

behaviours.

The sins

of our

fathers

are never

too far

away.

Now

favouritism

mightn't be

your issue.

It could

be stubbornness,

or maybe

it's control.

Or maybe

it's lies,

or

unforgiveness,

or

manipulation,

or keeping

a grudge.

And if

you're not

quite sure

what your

sin struggle

is,

well then

ask your

spouse or

a close

friend,

because they'll

know what

it is,

and they'll

tell you.

You see,

we learn

behaviours,

don't we?

We repeat

patterns.

that's why

people say

things like

this,

oh he's

an old

chip off,

he's a

chip off

the old

block.

Or she's

got her

mother's

ways.

We know

what we

mean when

we say

that.

You see,

God in

his grace

has given

us so

much and

he's blessed

us,

not least

with family

and friends,

but how

often are

those

relationships

broken and

shattered,

and remain

broken and

shattered

because of

pride and

anger and

stubbornness and

favouritism.

Are we able

to spot and

recognise the

sins that

continue down

through our

family and in

our own

life?

Of course,

we have sins

that are similar

to Adam,

our first

father.

sin of

selfishness,

living as

we please

and doing

as we

want.

You see,

we not only

need to

recognise our

sin,

we need to

confront it

and deal

with it,

admit to

it,

own up,

confess it

to God.

Because if

we don't

deal with

our sin,

it will

come to

the surface

in divisive

and destructive

ways.

just as it

did in

Jacob's

family and

as it

seems to

be arising

once again

with Joseph.

So as we

journey along,

first,

beware the

sins of

your fathers.

second,

a reminder,

remember the

promises

from our

God.

Jacob's

life has

been filled

with trouble

and trials,

primarily as

we've just

seen,

by his own

doing,

especially the

sin of

favouritism.

Yet God

doesn't give

up.

he sticks

with sinners.

The brothers

return home

to their

father,

and it's

not just

with provisions

and an

invitation to

go to

Egypt,

but with

some great

news.

Look at

verse 26.

The brothers

told their

father Jacob,

Joseph is

still alive.

In fact,

he's the

ruler of

all Egypt.

Jacob was

stunned.

He couldn't

believe it.

22 years

have passed.

And when

they told

him everything

Joseph had

said to

them,

and when

he saw

the carts

Joseph had

sent to

carry him

back,

the spirit

of their

father Jacob

revived.

And

Israel said,

I'm

convinced.

My son

Joseph is

still alive.

I will

go.

and see

him before

I die.

Now,

the question

we're all

asking is,

did the

brothers tell

their father

what they

did to

Joseph?

Do you

think they

did?

Well,

we're not

told,

are we?

We're not

told what

they told

their father.

It appears

that that

particular piece

of information

is an

important,

important.

If it

really was

important,

it would

be recorded

for us,

but it's

not.

Instead,

we're told

of something

else that

is more

important,

and this

is where

our focus

should be.

we don't

get an

answer,

we do

get a

promise.

Look at

chapter 46

verse 2.

God's

name.

And God

spoke to

Israel in

a vision

at night

and said,

Jacob,

Jacob,

here I

am,

he replied.

I am

God,

the God

of your

father,

he said.

God's

calling out

to Jacob

in a

vision is

specific

and

intentional.

God is

introducing

himself to

Jacob as

the covenant

God,

the God

who makes

promises

and keeps

promises.

I am

God,

the God

of your

father,

he said.

this is

the commitment

that God

gives.

He is

the one

who makes

promises

and keeps

promises.

And to

enable Jacob

to trust

God,

he gives

another

promise.

Look at

verse 4.

Or sorry,

verse 3,

we'll take

it up in

verse 3.

I am

God,

the God

of your

father,

he said.

Do not

be afraid

to go

down to

Egypt,

for I

will make

you into

a great

nation.

And now

here comes

another

promise.

I will

go down

to Egypt

with you

and I

will surely

bring you

back again.

That's the

commitment of

God.

That's his

loyalty.

He proves

his promises

by his

presence.

Verse 4,

I will

go

with you.

I will

bring you

back.

I will

do it.

you see,

if we

have the

presence of

God with

us,

then we're

on solid

ground.

We don't

need to

fear and

we don't

need to

worry.

That's the

confidence the

writer of

Psalm 46

has.

Read along

with me.

God is our

refuge and

strength,

an ever

present help

in trouble.

God is the

end of the

earth.

God is the

end of the

heart of

the sea.

Did you see

the solid

ground we

have there?

Do you see

the promise?

Get your

highlighter out,

your pen,

scribble,

mark,

ever

present.

Ever

present.

It's a

guarantee.

It's a

promise.

Our God is

the ever

present God.

He doesn't

leave us.

He never

forsakes us.

You see,

this isn't just

a nice

sentiment that

we text to

our friends

without any

thought.

Oh,

God is with

you.

We just

palm it

off.

No,

this is a

truth that

provides

security and

stability.

I will

go with

you.

You see,

it doesn't

matter whether

we're travelling

down to

Egypt like

the brothers

or having

to go and

visit the

doctor over

some concern

or we're

starting into

a new job.

Yes,

we will

have fears

and worries,

but we

are not

alone.

The

Creator

God,

the

Almighty

God,

the

covenant

God who

makes

promises

is

ever

present.

I

will

be

with

you.

Yes,

he is

with people

like you

and me

who mess

up and

sin just

like Jacob

did,

but he

sticks

with us.

So

first,

beware of

the sins

of our

fathers

and

remember the

promises

of our

God

and

third,

here's the

guarantee,

recall the

assurances

for our

life,

recall the

assurance for

our lives.

So with

the promises

of God

given to

Jacob,

his family

pack up

and they

head for

Egypt,

verse 7.

Jacob

brought with

him to

Egypt his

sons and

grandsons and

his daughters

and granddaughters

and all his

offspring.

Now,

that's enough

information,

isn't it?

Isn't that all

we need to

know?

Jacob and

his family

headed off

down to

Egypt.

But what

we get

is another

catalogue of

one of those

genealogies,

those boring

details,

like how

many of us

start reading

verse 8,

these are the

names of the

sons of Israel,

Jacob and his

descendants who

went to

Egypt,

Reuben,

the firstborn

of Jacob,

the sons of

Reuben,

Hanok,

Palu,

Hezron,

Carmi.

Do you want

me to keep

going?

Do we really

need to know

everybody's

name?

I mean,

the writer

could have

just saved a

lot of

research and

time and

just stopped

at verse 7

and jump all

the way to

verse 28

where the

story continues.

So why

have we

got all

this list

of names?

Does he

just like

names?

Has he

got a

particular

hobby?

No,

it's much

deeper and

richer than

that.

But this

list of

names reveals

to us

God's

faithfulness

or to be

more accurate

God's

assurances

to his

people in

times of

great failure.

look with

me at

this list

of names.

They're

recorded or

broken up

into four

groups.

So starting

in verse 8

we have a

list of

names of

sons and

then come

to verse 15

and we're

told these

are the

sons of

Leah born

to Jacob.

And then

we have a

list of

other sons.

And we

get to

verse 18

and we're

told these

are the

children born

to Jacob

by Zilpah.

And then

we've got

more names.

And then

verse 22

these were

the sons

of Rachel

who were

born to

Jacob.

And then

a few

more and

in verse

25 these

are the

sons born

to Jacob

by Bilhah.

What's

going on?

why all

these

kind of

references

to their

mothers?

Well

Leah was

Jacob's

first wife.

And remember

we learned

this just

now.

Jacob

didn't love

Leah.

He loved

Rachel.

And it

sparked off

a baby

war.

Who could

get the

most babies

out of

Jacob?

And when

they couldn't

have more

babies they

got their

maidservants

involved.

Zilpah

and Bilhah.

It sparked

was all

sparked off

by favoritism

which led

to envy

and rivalry.

One family

but here

they are

divided

and broken

in four.

You see

that's what

favoritism

does.

That's what

sin does.

It wrecks

and it

destroys.

They are a

family that

have been

broken up.

But yet

here they

are all

listed,

all named,

all recorded.

Not one

of them

is missing.

They're all

accounted

for.

Why?

Because God

had made

a promise

that he

was going

to make

this ragamuffin

bunch of

failures

into a

great nation

so that

they in

turn could

go and

be a

blessing

to the

nations.

It's a

wonder that

they've

actually

made it

so far.

In one

sense these

names shouldn't

be here

but they

are.

And it's

all down

to God's

stubborn

faithfulness

to a

bunch

of failures.

And so

as we look

at this

list of

names

we don't

go

isn't

that

boring.

we are

amazed at

what God

has done.

Verse 27

With the

two sons

who had

been born

to Joseph

in Egypt

the members

of Jacob's

family which

went to

Egypt

were 70

in all.

Now 70

isn't much

of a nation

is it?

And they

don't seem

to be doing

much blessing.

Maybe you've

got 70

in your

family you

wouldn't

call yourself

a nation.

Well nations

have to

start somewhere

don't they?

And that's

where the

story brings

us.

God

assures us

that he

keeps his

promise.

He said

he would

have a

nation

and here

he's

building

a nation.

But our

story doesn't

end there.

You see

from this

broken

family

God was

going to

bring his

promise

to

fulfillment.

from the

family line

of Jacob

would come

eventually

down through

the years

the saviour

of the

world

Jesus

Christ.

The one

who brings

the blessing

of new

life and

eternal

hope to

all the

nations.

You see

God may

have started

out way

back in

Genesis

with a

nation of

70.

God's

love to

God.

But today

there are

hundreds of

millions of

people who

have been

brought into

the family

of God

by trusting

in Jesus

Christ.

Listen to

what the

apostle Peter

reminds us.

You can

follow it on

the screen.

Peter says,

I now

realize how

true it is

that God

does not

show

favouritism.

Our

problem

often is

favouritism

but not

with God.

He accepts

people from

every

nation.

The one

who fears

him and

does what

is right.

Everyone

who believes

in him

receives

forgiveness

of sins

through his

name.

You see

just as

God said

he is

building a

nation,

a people

belonging to

him,

a bunch

of failures

who have

been forgiven

and are

welcomed into

God's

family.

And God

loves

everyone

equally.

Each one

is treasured.

There is

no favouritism

within the

family of

God.

And everyone

is remembered

and everyone

is accounted

for.

This family,

this nation

is what we

call the

church.

That's who

we are,

a nation

gathering

together,

who have

been commissioned

by the

risen Jesus

to go

and bring

blessing to

the nations.

Remember what

Jesus said?

The end of

Matthew's

gospel,

chapter 28.

Go and

make

disciples

of all

nations

and surely

I am with

you always

to the very

end of the

age.

age.

There's

that promise

again.

The

ever-present

promise.

These are

the last

words of

Jesus

recorded by

Matthew in

his gospel.

And of

all the

things Jesus

wants us

to remember,

it's this

promise that

as you go

as my

people,

I am

with you

always.

grace.

I am

ever-present

in whatever

you do.

You see,

the account

of Jacob's

family

enables us

to recall

the assurances

of God.

It gives us

assurance that

God will do

what he says

he will do.

God is

working through

his people,

people like

us, who

are gathered

here in

Carigaline,

to build

his church,

to share

the good

news of

Christ, so

that all

nations, all

people, might

be welcomed

in.

And how do

we know it's

going to

happen?

Because of

this story.

Because of

what God

started and

what he's

continuing to

do.

And it

happens by

the stubborn

faithfulness of

God.

So as we

follow the

journey with

these brothers,

let's learn

from them.

As we

journey with

God together,

let us be

aware of the

sins of our

father.

Deal with

it.

Otherwise it

will come up

to the surface

and it will

be destructive

and divisive.

And as we

journey, let

us remember

the promises

of our

God.

He is

with you.

He is

ever

present.

And let's

together recall

the assurances

for our

life.

That God

will keep

his promise

and God

will build

his church.

change.

Let's

pray together.

our

father God,

there is

much for

us to

learn as

we walk

our path,

as we

journey with

you.

would you

please help

us to

learn these

three things

that we've

looked at

today.

Father,

help us

not to

hide our

sin,

but to

deal with

it, to

confess it,

so that it

doesn't become

divisive or

destructive.

father,

thank you

for the

wonderful

promise

that you

are ever

present with

us this

week,

wherever we

go,

whether it's

to school

or college,

or maybe

we have to

go and see

someone and

we're a bit

worried.

You are

with us.

And thank

you for the

great assurance

that you have

given to us,

your church,

your people.

that you

are building

a people

and you

will see

that your

promises are

fulfilled.

So help us

to walk with

you together.

Help us to

trust you,

knowing that

you are good.

and it's in

Jesus' name

we all

pray.

Amen.

Well, we're

going to

sing a

song which

is one of

praise.

We join in

with all

creation to

praise our

great God

God who

works with

sinners like

us, who

is present

with us,

and the

God who

gives us

great assurance.

Let's